Many arrived early in the morning, well before Tuanku Mizan Zainal Abidin, who is also the Malaysian King, was due to arrive at Sultan Mahmud airport at 10am after flying in from the Kuala Lumpur.

Carrying banners, placards and yellow flags, they shouted 'Daulat Tuanku' (Long Live His Majesty) when he arrived.

The crowd was so huge that it caused a bottleneck on the city's major bridge leading to the city centre.

Among them were the 22 Barisan Nasional assemblymen who had clashed with the King, who is also the Sultan of Terengganu, over the appointment of the state's menteri besar.

The BN government and the royal household had clashed when Tuanku Mizan chose to appoint Kijal assemblyman Ahmad Said instead of former menteri besar Idris Jusoh, whom Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi had chosen.

The clash threatened to escalate into a constitutional crisis, but was resolved when the Datuk Seri Abdullah backed down after meeting the King.

Yesterday's strong show of support for the King could prove embarrassing for the Premier, whose support in recent days has appeared to be weakening as he battles infighting in Umno.

Already, he has lost battles with the royal households of two states over the appointment of chief ministers in Terengganu and in Perlis.

Datuk Ahmad will be sworn in today, and the BN assemblymen will attend, said state Umno liaison committee secretary Rosol Wahid.

'We respect our ruler and will be at the palace tomorrow,' he said.

One BN man who did not turn up to welcome the King, however, was Datuk Seri Idris.

An aide said that he was still resting at his home and would not make any comments for now.

Bernama, The Star/Asia News Network